Red Bull Admits It Still Has Work to Do After Messy Mexico Friday

Red Bull closed Friday practice in Mexico City knowing it still has ground to make up, with Max Verstappen fifth and three tenths off the pace — a gap made more respectable by the front-end damage he carried through the session.

Why it matters:

Verstappen's day was compromised before it started. Ayumu Iwasa took the RB22 for FP1, leaving the Dutchman a single session to work with, and that session included a run-in with Liam Lawson that tore a bargeboard off his car. The stewards handed both drivers a one-place grid penalty — a frustrating outcome Verstappen called "not very smart" from a Racing Bulls driver still fighting for his seat.

The details:

• The lost bodywork cost genuine downforce. "The bargeboard, or whatever this thing is called, was broken off. So of course you lose downforce because of that," Verstappen said.
• Technical director Pierre Wache pinpointed the underlying weakness: a balance that is "a little bit disconnected between the front and the rear" — front under braking and at the apex, rear on corner exit.
• Mexico's altitude and the 2026 regulations amplify the problem. Verstappen described the car as "even more sliding" with active aerodynamics, adding: "Personally, it's not the most fun."
• Tyres loom large. Wache admitted the rubber "is clearly overheating in the last sector," and noted FP2 track temperatures fell more than 10 degrees, making long runs unrepresentative of Sunday.

What's next:

Red Bull will repair the floor overnight and hunt a setup that settles the short-run balance without punishing tyre life over a stint — the trade-off Wache called the team's central task. Ferrari arrives as the paddock favourite: its smaller turbo suits the altitude and its low-speed form has been strong all year. "We are not far," Wache said, "and I hope we can challenge them."